Cheesy Kyrgios marketing cheek backfires

AUSSIE footwear icon Volleys appear to have been just as caught out as the rest of Australia by Nick Kyrgios' new leaf displayed at Melbourne Park this week.

It's left the tennis shoe company with egg all over their face.

22-year-old Kyrgios has been widely praised for his behaviour and calm temperament this week, highlighted by his third round win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday night - Volleys must have missed the memo.

The company on Saturday morning launched a new marketing campaign linking their brand of shoe with Australia's past success at our home grand slam.

The campaign which featured an open letter addressed to Kyrgios in a full page ad in a Melbourne newspaper as part of a wide-ranging marketing reach, also included a video which took a cheap pot-shot at the Australian star.

The video voiced by comedian Lawrence Mooney impersonating Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called on Kyrgios to get his act together with some slightly cheesy lines and out-dated criticisms.

The open letter has been criticised for missing the mark "big time" in its attempt to poke fun at Kyrgios.

The letter publicly called on Kyrgios to ditch his Nike sponsorship and lace up a pair of volleys.

"Dear Nick, mate, we need to talk," the ad said.

"We're big admirers. You've got a big game, an attitude to match and, hey, you're doing it for the kids. We're even fans of your feistiness (we like a bit of sizzle on our barbecue, if you get the drift).

"But it's time for a serve of our own - hear us out - the last time an Aussie bloke won the Australian Open, he did it in Volleys.